When Salisbury University lost alumnus and head men's basketball coach Josh Merkel to Randolph-Macon University in April, the athletic department embarked on a nationwide search for his replacement.

But when they found the right fit, he had ties that couldn't be much closer.

On Monday, the school announced Andrew Sachs — another SU graduate who at one time was an assistant under longtime Sea Gull coach Ward Lambert — will helm the program moving forward.

"I think it is always special when you get the chance to coach where you went to school and got your first coaching job," Sachs said. "You always follow Salisbury wherever you go. I bleed maroon and gold, and I'm looking forward to carrying on the great tradition of Sea Gull athletics."

Sachs joins the Sea Gulls following a 23-year collegiate coaching career, most recently spending six years as head coach at Bethany College in West Virginia, where he led the Bison to a 117-49 record and two NCAA tournament berths.

But while leaving his home for the last six years will be bittersweet, he said SU represents the perfect opportunity for him and his family.

"There are no negatives to this move," he said. "I've had a great conversation with all of the returning players today. We are excited to build on what they did last year and we are just going to put the pedal to the medal once we get started.

"I am elated."

From 1988-92, Sachs was the top assistant under Lambert when the Sea Gulls posted a 76-36 record, finishing the stretch with back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances and a program-record 27 consecutive wins during the 1991-92 season and a run to the NCAA quarterfinal round.

"He is a go-getter," Lambert said. "He'll at least keep the program where it is, and I think he's going to improve it quite a bit. Josh did a great job. Josh picked up the pieces and got them to the NCAA tournament, and I think Andy will keep doing that and he may get lucky and he may win the big one out there. He's a good coach."

Sachs was just a student when he started coaching under Lambert, but even then it was apparent to the veteran coach that Sachs had the determination to be successful. He was always asking questions and looking for more duties and to gain more experience.

"He just came and said is there anything you want done," Lambert said. "And he recruited. He took the bull by the horns, wanted to do everything, so he learned everything — he traveled on his own money to learn stuff. He is a winner and he's going to do a great job."

"A proven winner"

On Monday, Salisbury University announced Andrew Sachs — an SU graduate who at one time was an assistant under longtime Sea Gull coach Ward Lambert — will helm the men’s basketball program moving forward.(Photo: Submitted image)

This will be Sachs' fifth collegiate stop, having spent a five-year stint with Division I College of the Holy Cross and a five-year run with Division II Indiana University (Pa.). In both situations he was the top assistant. Sachs also had a four-year run as an assistant with Virginia Wesleyan College, where he helped the Marlins to their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference title and an NCAA tournament appearance.

"Coach Sachs is a proven winner with a history of recruiting Maryland student-athletes everywhere he has been," said Bill Lewit, a former Sea Gulls player (1987-91) and current assistant coach at Division I Northwestern State. "He left an indelible mark on all the Sea Gull alumni he coached during the '80s and early '90s. We are thrilled he returns as head coach, and you can expect a perennial power in men's basketball we are accustomed to seeing across the maroon and gold athletic department."

Sachs is the seventh head coach in the history of Salisbury men's basketball. The program has won the Capital Athletic Conference title twice and appeared in the NCAA tournament on six different occasions.

"I say this all the time, and the guys sometimes make fun of me for it," Sachs said. "But you are either getting better or you are getting worse. Nobody stays the same. We want to try and get the program better every day."

Whether that is on the recruiting trail, building relationships with the guys on the current roster, the workout program or any other aspects of the program, that is always the goal. And Sachs knows Merkel left the program much better than he found it.

This past season, Merkel led Salisbury to a 21-8 record and a 14-4 CAC mark. The Sea Gulls were 66-41 (.617) during the past four years and 37-25 (.597) in Capital Athletic Conference contests.

"They are coming off an NCAA tournament and they have a lot of guys back," Sachs said. "You just want to try and build on it. The league has gotten better. Mary Washington will be a lot better. I think Frostburg will be a lot better.

"The program itself is a lot better off than it was four years ago."

That basketball program has a lot to live up to, as many of the other sports have set the bar high when it comes to NCAA tournament appearances and even national championships. But consistency and strong coaching have been a big part of that success.

"The beauty of Salisbury"

Not too many programs in the country have a coach return after more than 20 years and find some of the same faces that were there when he left.

"That is part of the beauty of Salisbury," Sachs said. "It's such a special place, and I think one of the elite small public universities on the East Coast, and it's a great place to work. Dr. Vienna has done an unbelievable job with the culture there, and I think that is proven. You just want to be a part of that."

The hire will likely be the last for Vienna as athletic director. He is leaving this summer for Emory University. It was one of the last major tasks he wanted to take care of before departing Salisbury.

"We are excited to have Andy join our department and our men's basketball program," Vienna said. "His history with Salisbury University, his successful coaching career and his recruiting ties to the Mid-Atlantic Region, make him an ideal fit to lead the men's basketball program going forward."

Sachs said he could not think of a negative to the job, but just moving back to the Shore is what has his family most excited.

His wife, Paula, is from Seaford, and the move will bring her closer to family and his children, Derek and Meredeth, closer to their grandparents.

There will be challenges to the move: selling a house, finding a house, hiring an assistant and of course the mounds of paperwork he has ahead. But that he's sure will all work out. The rest, of course, is "just basketball," and that he has under control.

"I'm happy to be a part of one of the best athletic programs in the country, and we will certainly try and push forward and move the basketball program to a higher level than it reached last year," he said.

Sachs joins the Sea Gulls following a 23-year collegiate coaching career, most recently spending six years as head coach at Bethany College in West Virginia, where he led the Bison to a 117-49 record and two NCAA tournament berths.

From 1988-92, Sachs was the top assistant under Lambert when the Sea Gulls posted a 76-36 record, finishing the stretch with back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances and a program-record 27-consecutive wins during the 1991-92 season and a run to the NCAA quarterfinal round.

This will be Sachs' fifth collegiate stop, having spent a five-year stint with Division I College of the Holy Cross and a five-year run with Division II Indiana University (Pa.). In both situations he was the top assistant. Sachs also had a four-year run as an assistant with Virginia Wesleyan College, where he helped the Marlins to their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference title and an NCAA tournament appearance.